Students finding jobs quickly after graduation

Ryan Nichols picked the right table when he attended a jobs fair at OTC earlier this year.

“I went right to the Chase table. It was the first interview I had and they hired me,” said Nichols, who graduated in May with a business and marketing degree.

Today, Nichols is finishing his orientation training with the company at its Springfield headquarters and will soon be a service representative for Chase’s Slate credit cards.

Nichols represents a growing number of OTC graduates who are finding work within 180 days of graduation.

The most recent survey of Allied Health and Technical Education graduates showed that 83 percent of the graduates found degree-related work within six months.

“I wouldn’t have known the terms and uses of the Internet without OTC’s training. I learned a lot and definitely enjoyed the classes,” he said.

Melanie Allen is now the events coordinator at the Springfield Incredible Pizza. It’s a job she got just weeks after graduating with a transfer degree with an emphasis in business. Allen’s job requires her to book group events, help with fund-raising efforts and field donation requests.

“Since I worked at OTC while going to school, I learned how to talk to strangers,”said Allen, who was an OTC student ambassador.

Chris Francis is now a neuro-trauma emergency room nurse for Cox Hospitals, a job he got this spring right after graduating with his Associate’s in Science in Nursing.

In 2011, he graduated from OTC with a practical nursing certificate.

“With both of these achievements, I was able to immediately join the workforce after graduation, which also prepared for me for the National Certification for Licensed Nurses Exams,” he said.

“Without these certifications I would not have the privilege of working in the Nursing field. I feel fortunate to have gone to OTC for the training and education.”